


There's Less to it Than You Think

by devy_pop



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Bad Puns, Drama, F/F, F/M, I'll add tags as needed, M/M, Multi, Orange Soul Human - Freeform, POV Second Person, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader uses feminine pronouns, Romance, Sensitive Soul Human, Slow Burn, Smut, Soulmates, Speciesism, eventually, reader is a cis-woman, so brave, the slowest of burns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:20:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24186520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devy_pop/pseuds/devy_pop
Summary: You like your librarian job, skateboarding, and using said skateboard to ram racists in the ankles. Not the most glamorous life, but you knew how to enjoy the small things. Monsters have been free from the Underground for nearly two years, and you've made some fast friends among them. Anti-Monster groups are on the rise again, but you won't let that stop you from hanging out with the ones that you love. How far would you go to protect those most precious to you?
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale), Asgore Dreemurr/Toriel, Burgerpants/Nice Cream Vendor (Undertale), Sans (Undertale)/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 32





	There's Less to it Than You Think

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written a fanfiction before; at least not to completion. But with the help of my lovely beta reader Jess, I hope to get through this with you all! Tell me what you think in the comments! ♡

A Prologue of Some Description

She was on a skateboard the first time Sans saw her. He might not have noticed her at all, if it hadn’t been for the sheer _grace_ of her movements. When he had seen humans on the boards in the past, it was fast, fancy tricks and jerky movements. But this was different. She was different. Like watching water flow, or something poetic like that. Minute movements of her hips and feet adjusted her entire body, and Sans was transfixed. He didn’t know if it was _her_ , or the casual ease that seemed to surround her that drew his eye so much.

The skeleton Monster watched the fluidity of the woman draw ever closer, his eyelights tracking her every move. He didn’t know why, but she seemed like the most interesting thing he had seen in weeks. He could feel sweat dripping down the back of his skull, and regretted wearing his hoodie. It was getting warmer. Or he was getting warmer. He wasn’t sure. Sans had never considered himself particularly _lusty_ \- sure, he’d had a few flings in the Underground- but watching this human glide so smoothly towards him left him yearning for… _Something._

Mesmerized as he’d been, Sans failed to notice the commotion to his right until it escalated into shouting.

“Listen, you long-eared freak! I know how much money I gave you!” A human man was yelling loudly at the Lapine Monster selling Nice Cream bars from a cart. “You’re not going to stand there and short change me!”

The blue rabbit seemed to bristle defensively. “Sir, you really did only give me a five dollar bill, so your change really is only $1.75.” His voice was tight, but still polite. “Please refrain from name calling, all right?”

This enraged the human more. Sans wondered if he’d need to intervene. He didn’t really want to. Monsters were still trying to keep a low profile, even though it had been nearly two years since they escaped the Underground with the help of Frisk. If he started flaunting his magic around, it was sure to incite more fear.

With a heavy sigh, the skeleton Monster made a move to stand, thinking perhaps he could talk or joke the human into calming down. After all, he was friends with… Huh. It occurred to Sans that he didn’t actually know the Blue Bunny’s name, having always called him ‘Nice Cream Guy’.

His eyelights swiveled over the crowd, looking for one more glimpse of the skateboarding woman, curious to see if she had noticed the scene unfolding near him.  
To his immense surprise, her path had changed dramatically; a direct collision course with the still shouting man.

If Sans hadn’t been so ~~enthralled; enraptured;~~ _interested_ in the skill level the woman possessed, he might have assumed the ensuing crash was the accident she made it appear to be.

Both humans tumbled hard, and the woman’s board skittered to a stop at the Nice Cream Guy’s feet. Sans made a mental note to actually commit the name to memory… if he remembered to ask.

“Aw, dude. I am _so_ sorry, my guy!” The skateboarder exclaimed, actually sounding contrite. Sans began to wonder if it really had been a mistake. She picked herself off the ground, checking her elbows and knees for injuries, before staring down rather unapologetically at the racist. Nope, that was definitely an ‘accident-on-purpose’. The man’s anger had a new source, but he seemed hesitant to completely unload on another human- especially since a small crowd had gathered. He scrambled to his feet, glaring spitefully. With a few choice words, and a solid shoulder check against the young woman, he stormed off. Sans wondered idly if he was plotting revenge.

For her part, the woman seemed unfazed, and turned to the Lapine Monster, smiling triumphantly. “Hey, Tarrance, wanna hook a lady up with a Nice Cream bar?”  
Tarrance (Sans repeated the name in his head, though he wasn’t sure he’d actually recall it later) returned her grin. He already had a Nice Cream out and ready for her.

“Never seen you take a fall like that before.” He quipped, drumming his fingers on the top of his refrigerated cart. “Didn’t something happen to your board?” She snorted.

“Nah. It’s a new game I’m playing called ‘Hit the twits’. I’m totally winning, my guy.” She took a bite of nice cream and looked thoughtful. “Of course, I am the only one playing right now.” The two of them laughed in a familiar way, and exchanged a few small talk pleasantries.  
Sans tried to be inconspicuous with his eavesdropping.

Once the frozen treat was gone, the woman gathered up her board and gave Tarrance a small wave. “All right man. I gotta get to work, but message me later, and we can hit up Burgerpants and see if he’s free to hang out this weekend, yeah?”

She half-jogged to get some speed, and stepped cleanly onto her board. Sans found himself curious about how much she had practiced to make the transition so clean. Just as he thought he had gone unnoticed through the whole event, she skated past the bench where he was lounging.

Her eyes snapped up to his. A faint smirk touched her lips, and she winked. Sans felt like his Soul had just twitched, or clenched, or _physically reacted_ in some way to the gesture.

“See ya around, bone man.” And then she was gone, sliding between morning commuters, and Sans was left staring at nothing.

He HAD to meet her.

Chapter One  
  


Exposition for the Librarian

You whip up to the library with time to spare, and slip your board into your backpack, still musing over this morning’s misadventure. You take the stairs two at a time, and hang a left right inside the building towards the restroom. Generally, crashing headlong into people left your hair in disarray, and you needed the assistance of a restroom mirror to pull it into a messy bun.  
Once that issue is somewhat handled, it’s time to clock in. Ten AM on the dot.

“Hey chickadee, you sleep good? You’re practically glowing.” Carol, your motherly, and ever cheerful boss, looks up from the cart of book returns she’s scanning. You skip further into the back office and shrug nonchalantly. 

“Just feeling it today, I guess!” And you are. Besides the warmth of the magic Nice Cream treat earlier, colliding with assholes always left you in good spirits. And if you can do both of those things _while_ helping out a dear friend? All the better!

“I’m getting started on reshelving, Carol. Peter and Amy are already hard at work?” As you tug a book cart out of the office, the older woman gives a murmur of confirmation. Excellent news. That meant Amy was probably working the desk, so you were free to pop in your earbuds and jam out to Pondara while replacing the somewhat formidable stacks of books. 

You let your mind wander as you work, your body on autopilot. You had done this job so long, you could actually reshelve books in your sleep. Honestly, the man this morning might have just been having an off day. Maybe he was a racist Monster-hater. But calling Tarrance a freak- No, _shouting_ it at him, for the whole park to hear? That was just _rude._  
Monsters had been on the Surface for about two years now, and by this point, most people had adjusted to the fact that they weren’t planning on leaving. Overall, you could say that you were proud of the citizens of Ebott, and the surrounding areas. Most people treated the Monsters with politeness, if not kindness. 

Most of them, anyway. There were a few Anti-Monster hate groups; one in particular had some pull in City Hall. You snort derisively. Assholes.

You had many friends among the Monsters, since a lot of them frequented Ebott Public Library in the beginning, trying to catch up on the centuries of history they had missed. Apparently, being sealed magically Underground, and only receiving bits and pieces of discarded information kind of left Monsters out of the loop.  
Tarrance and Burgerpants (or BP, as you liked to call him), were two such Monsters. Well, Tarrance had been. BP never seemed that enthusiastic about it, but that never stopped you from becoming the Cat Monsters friend. With those two came a few others; most you were at least acquaintances with. You even had the opportunity to meet Queen Toriel and Frisk, the Human Ambassador a few times! But for the most part, it was Tarrance, BP, and Monster Kid that you ended up becoming closest with. You smiled fondly, placing more books in their proper space. 

Your thoughts turn to the Skeleton Monster from this morning. That was definitely nobody (you chuckle at your pun) you had met before. You think that you’d definitely have noticed a Skeleton. If you hadn’t been in such a rush this morning, you would have introduced yourself. As it was, you made a mental note to ask Tarrance later. Were there a lot of Skeleton Monsters out there? You knew that some species of Monsters were much more plentiful than others. Maybe Skeletons just… weren’t.

You allow yourself to get lost in the repetitive task of shelving, your music lulling your thoughts away. Before you know it, an hour has passed, and your cart is empty. You’re ready to take a turn manning the desk, and start lugging the creaky old cart back to the front when Peter flags you down. 

“Hey, Y/N, do you mind swinging that buggy over here? Someone moved all of our Monster History and Science textbooks into children's fiction. Again.” The exasperation in his voice matched your expression. 

You tug out your earbuds as you approach.  
“I am so sick of this shit,” you rant, looking in despair at the mess in front of you. “If I ever find out who keeps doing this, I’m going to shove my skateboard up their whole ass!” the words come out in an angry hiss as you begin the process of stacking books onto the cart. 

“As opposed to a fraction of their ass?” Peter asks sarcastically.

You can’t help but snort out a laugh. “Did I stutter, Petrich?” The pile of books grows precariously tall. “Their _whole_ ass. My board will be so far up there, I’ll be able to see it when they open their mouth to beg for mercy.”  
Peter opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it and shook his head. “That is not something I wanted to imagine, (y/n).”  
The two of you work quietly for a few beats before he breaks the silence. “Is it because you’re tired of reshelving these books over and over, or because of the books being moved in question?”

You don’t answer right away, instead taking some time to dig out the picture books that had been shoved carelessly aside for this act of “vandalism”.  
“It’s both, really,” you begin, holding “The Matter of Souls” by Dr. Alphys. You knew that she was the Royal Scientist, but you had never actually met her. “It’s both, but it’s more than that. It’s stupid, and childish, and purely _disrespectful_. I know that there are Monsters that are assholes too. That’s just personality traits, just like humans. But I’ve also met so many dear, sweet friends. And it’s so exciting! Learning about their history, their culture…” You whirl to face Peter, eyes bright. “Have you read any of these books, or gotten comfortable enough to talk to them about Souls? Or Magic?! Oh Peter, it’s… it’s…” You fumble for words. 

“Magical?” He wryly supplies. 

You swat his shoulder playfully. But he’s right. You don’t have a word to describe it other than magical. Neither of you pick the conversation back up, and soon everything is back in its proper place.  
You tag out Amy for desk duty, leaving Peter to circulate. The practiced task of scanning books, printing receipts, and making small talk comes easily.

Time flies, and at Two PM, you switch with Peter so you can take your lunch break. Most of your coworkers brought lunch from home to eat in the break room, but Carol always brought an egg and tuna salad sandwich on Fridays, and you weren’t up to the challenge of smelling that.

Board in hand, you hop down the outside steps and pull out your phone. Two ChatSnaps and an email from your study group, cancelling for tonight. Well then. That just freed up your evening. Unsurprisingly, one of the Chats was from your group chat with Tarrance and Burgerpants, asking about tentative plans to hang out. You tap a quick reply, confirming that you were free for this evening, as well as Saturday. BP responded quickly.

BeePee: I hv work 2nite, and I was forced to agre 2 do inventory 2morow mrning. 

You grin, knowing that if there was a lazy way to do something, BP would do it. Maybe “easier” was a better way to phrase it than lazy. He’d just say that he was efficient. You started to type, but held off when Tarrance’s chat box popped up. He was significantly slower than his friends, something BP didn’t let slide.

BeePee: U type so slooooooooooooow

BunBu#: I’m free on Saturday night as well, so that sounds good to me.  
BunBu#: Shut up Burgy.  
BunBu#: <3

Master Commander: Okay, I’m down for Sat then. <3 <3 <3 Btw, do either of you know any skeleton Monsters????  
Master Commander: The one on the bench by your stand this morning, Tare? 

BeePee: ugh u mean papyrus the “great”??? Gr8ly annoying or his brother. Hes awfiul 2.  
BeePee: g2g boss is bk from break

BunBu#: Oh ya! I forgot to tell you (y/n)  
BunBu#: nvm. Ya, that was Sans. Why do you ask?

Huh. Papyrus and Sans? So there were at least two skeletons that your friends knew about. And Sans was the Monster you had seen this morning. Before you could reply to the Chat, your phone vibrated, indicating you had an incoming video call. Sliding to accept, your face brightened at the sight of a yellow reptilian Monster. He whooped in excitement when you answered. 

“Monster Kid! Hey little dude!” Your enthusiasm was genuine, and he grinned in response.

“Yo! You answered! Does that mean you’re done with work? Can I come see you?!” From the scene behind him, you could tell that he was at the coffee shop only a few blocks away. 

You shook your head. “Nah kiddo, I’m just on my break, but stay where you are, and I’ll come chat with you before I have to clock back in.” You started adjusting your backpack as you spoke, getting your board ready. 

That appeased your young friend, and you ended the call with a promise to see him soon. The skateboard slid easily beneath you, allowing you to weave through the sparse foot traffic rather quickly. 

Monster Kid was actually one of, if not _the_ first Monsters you had met, let alone befriended. In the first year after Monsters were freed from Mount Ebott, everyone was confused and scared. The Monsters were no exception. Only a few of them remembered the Surface from before, and so much had changed. As for the younger Monsters, the sheer amount of, well, everything, was simply overwhelming. As a result, Monster Kid spent a lot of time at the library, seeming to find comfort in a place so similar to the one in the Underground. 

“I hated school down there,” he confided in you once, as you carried a teetering pile of books for him, and tried to avoid staring. It was difficult, as he looked a bit like a children’s drawing of a yellow dinosaur dragon, but with no arms, and wearing a striped sweater.  
“My parents and sister always told me how important it was, but it seemed so pointless! I wanted to grow up and be part of the Royal Guard, dude!” He looked up at you with wide, awestruck eyes.  
“But there’s so much up here! And I’m out here with it! Dude! Do you _see_ all these comics?!” Shouting, and unable to contain his excitement, the Monster child hopped around the table you set his books on. Inevitably, he tripped and face planted, something (you supposed) that happened quite often when you have no arms. The two of you laughed and had talked for as long as your workload allowed, and soon enough, he began coming in daily, and you developed a sisterly fondness for him. 

Pulling yourself back to the present as you rounded the corner onto Magnolia, you spotted the Monster in question seated at one of the outside cafe tables, two iced coffees in front of him. The yellow reptile was looking around for you eagerly, practically vibrating in his seat. You whistled as you approached, board in hand. He wasted no time in telling you what sounded like eight things at once, which was an impressive feat for one mouth. 

“Slow down, little dude. I have no idea what you’re trying to tell me.” At your light-hearted protest, MK gave an over-dramatic sigh and waited impatiently as you took a few well needed sips of coffee. 

“(Y/n), I’m trying to tell you something _super_ important dude!” He was leaning forward, looking at you so earnestly, you thought he might fall out of the chair. You raised your hands in defeat. 

“All right, all right! Lay it on me, my man. What’s the big news?”You folded your hands on the table neatly, giving him your full attention. He took a big breath as though to prepare himself.

“Okay, so. I _know_ you remember Queen Toriel and Frisk came with me to the library, right? You had better!” You nod, waiting for him to continue. “Frisk has a birthday coming up; their first REAL birthday since we left Underground, and they’re having a party!! That’s so cool, yo!”

You smile slightly, still not sure where this was going. 

“Well, I was talking to Frisk, and _they_ said… well, signed. You know they don’t talk. Anyway dude, they told me that they wanted me to invite you too! I talk about you aaaall the time, and Frisk really liked you at the library! Isn’t that so cool?!”

You were dumbfounded, and it must have shown, because MK’s face fell somewhat. 

“Uhm, you don’t _have_ to come if you don’t want to… I just… I thought you’d really like it dude,” His lip trembles slightly, and you rush to amend the situation. 

“Of course I want to go! I am _stoked_ to be invited! I mean, WOW. A birthday party with Frisk? And the Queen?” No pressure, right?

“King Asgore will be there too!” 

Oooh, boy! Your inner dialogue is going crazy, telling you about all the ways you could possibly embarrass yourself in front of the Royal family, but your mouth has you covered. You smile sincerely. “Heck yes, little dude! I would love to be your plus one to such a cool shindig. I was just totally amazed, is all.” When you playfully rub his head, he looks relieved. 

“Whew, that’s good, ‘cause I already told EVERYbody that I was bringing my totally awesome _Human_ friend. And that’s you.”  
You laugh at the sheer cheek of it, and quickly take down the information in your phone’s calendar. The two of you spend some time chatting and catching up. MK is overly excited about being on summer break, but you can’t really think of anything that he isn’t overly excited about. 

You snap your fingers suddenly. “Oh, I just remembered! MK, do you know a Monster named Sans? He’s a skeleton?”

Monster Kid looks a little uneasy, and shifts in his seat, his tail twitching quickly. “Why? Sans is a funny guy.” He pauses, taking a sip of his drink. “He likes puns a lot, and practical jokes. He’s really nice.”

“What’s wrong little dude? Your words and behavior don’t really match up.” You're watching him closely, but the reptilian Monster won’t meet your eyes. It’s a long while before he speaks again.

“(Y/n), Sans can be… dangerous. I don’t know everything that happened in the Underground, not even Frisk will tell me. But when we first got to the Surface, Humans were really scared dude. Sans-” He’s cut short by the alarm on your phone warning you that break was almost over.

“Shoot! Sorry kiddo, I gotta get back or I’ll be late clocking in. Look, don’t… don’t worry about it, okay? Everything will be alright.” You smile warmly at the youth, but the anxiety barely eases off his face. 

“If you say so. I gotta get home anyway. My parents are probably making a whole list of chores for me.” That does change his mood; rolling his eyes theatrically. You grin, and the two of you exchange goodbyes. 

The afternoon drags by, mostly because you’re excited to have a Friday evening off for once. By 4:00PM,, Carol and Peter have left for the day, and Amy is somewhere among the shelves. Not that the two of you ever talked much. For whatever reason, she had always been rather frigid towards you, from the day she started working there. Either way, you were manning the check-out desk.

“EXCUSE ME, HUMAN.”.

There was an attempt at a whispered shout, startling you out of your bored stupor.

“O-Oh! Yes! How can I help- uh… How can I help you?” You falter. From your seated position, you have to look up, and up, and _up_ to see the face of the Monster speaking. 

He’s a skeleton, but not Sans. This Monster is easily seven feet tall, looming over you, and wearing a crop top that says “Cool Dude” in orange glitter fabric paint. Ballsy.

“YES! I NEED HELP ACQUIRING A LIBRARY CARD!” He fidgets, pressing gloved hands together. “THE SIGN BY THE DOOR INFORMED ME TO INQUIRE AT THE FRONT DESK. CAN YOU ASSIST ME?”

You pause mid-nod. A loud skeleton? Was this-  
“Dude, are you Papyrus?” You gamble, and are rewarded with a beaming grin and what could only be described as a superhero pose. 

“NYEH HEH HEH! HUMAN! YOU HAVE HEARD OF I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS? I MEAN, OF COURSE YOU HAVE!” The whisper shout is now a full blown yell, causing some patrons to murmur with discontent. You attempt to quiet the very tall skeleton, but he continues gaily.  
“IN TRUTH, I HAD FORGOTTEN TO ACQUIRE A LIBRARY CARD UPON FIRST COMING TO THE SURFACE, SINCE I HAD MANY OF MY OWN BOOKS TO READ. BUT COMING HERE MUST HAVE BEEN FATE. MAY I KNOW YOUR NAME, HUMAN?” 

Laughing, you introduce yourself, and begin the application process for the exuberant skeleton. The two of you exchange small talk, and you learn about Papyrus’ Action Figure collection, his favourite books, and most importantly, his favourite food. (“SPAGHETTI, OF COURSE.”) When you hand over the newly activated card, Papyrus hesitates. You wait patiently, head cocked. 

“HUMAN- I MEAN (Y/N), MAY I HAVE THE JOY OF EXCHANGING CHATSNAPS WITH YOU?” He looks so hopeful that you immediately agree. 

“Absolutely dude! My handle is ‘Master Commander’. Here, let me add you right now!” You look up expectantly, phone in hand. Papyrus is beaming again, somehow the bones of his face able to morph into a happy expression. Monster magic. You meet his eyes, and are surprised to see… tears? But he gathers himself quickly. 

“AHEM. I AM COOLSKELETON95. I WAS VERY EXCITED TO DISCOVER MY UNDERNET NAME WAS AVAILABLE HERE AS WELL.”  
Finding him on the app is easy enough, and you’re struck with a sudden idea.

“Lean over the counter for a selfie with me! That way I can prove to my friends that I met the Great Papyrus! You stand, phone held out.  
Papyrus practically squealed, and for a moment you’re convinced that there were literal stars in his eye sockets. He lunged forward, snatching up the phone to provide the angle needed to capture you both. His bony cheek pressed warmly against your own. 

“Say Spaghetti!” He cried, snapping the picture as you laugh at the absurdity of it. Gleefully, he took the opportunity to do a photoburst, catching the two of you amid peals of giggles and ‘Nyeh heh heh’s.  
Phone back in hand, you take a moment to send the selfies to his ChatSnap.  
“There. Our first Chat is now my favouritest selfie with the Great Papyrus!” He looked like he might burst into happy tears again, but instead struck another pose. 

“NYEH HEH HEH. WE WILL HAVE MANY SELFIES IN THE FUTURE AS WELL, HUMAN! I MUST INFORM UNDYNE AND SANS THAT I MADE A NEW FRIEND TODAY! THANK YOU HUMAN! GOODBYE!” And then he was going, sprinting out the door before you could ask about Sans. Huh. He was becoming quite the enigma for you. Papyrus however, was a _delight_.

Barely a minute had passed when Amy peered out from in between the shelves. “Did he leave?” She questioned needlessly. “I’ve never seen a Monster so tall before.”  
Though she looked disinterested, and her tone was bored, there was something about the way she said it that set you on edge. It made you feel defensive and protective, even though you couldn’t really say why.  
“Right?!” You forced an easy smile in place. “He was super tall, and super friendly! Look,” You flashed the selfie at her, wiggling your phone excitedly. “We exchanged ChatSnaps!”  
Amy hummed in an unimpressed way, and you let the matter drop. Still… you caught yourself scrutinizing her as the afternoon wore on. 

Both of you found other things to do, keeping busy until 6:30PM rolled around. Your co-worker wasted no time gathering up her things and clocking out. Barely glancing your way as she mumbled a “Bye”, she quickly left for the evening. You wondered if maybe Amy had an issue with Monsters, though she had never indicated it before. You had thought she just didn’t care for you personally. But maybe there was more to it. Well, sucked for her either way. 

After confirming that all the patrons had left the building, you locked the front doors so that you could begin the closing checklist. Reshelving the books never took long, since you all stayed on top of it throughout the day, but you needed to log and file the overdue book receipts, lock up the till, and clean.  
You checked your messages as you worked. A ChatSnap from BP and Tarrance, followed by a selfie from the blue Lapine Monster at the Cinema Pub that Burgerpants worked at. If you squinted, you could just make the Monster in question in the background, flipping Tarrance off. You sent back a picture of the vacuum cleaner. 

Your friend Casey (you did have a few human friends too) had texted you, asking if you wanted to go out for drinks since the study group was cancelled. You worried your lips, weighing the pros and cons. On one hand you knew that going would be fun, and you could keep Casey out of trouble. On the other hand, keeping your friend out of trouble was _a lot of work_. Like babysitting. You had an innate ability to sort of… sense when someone was no good. Generally it was only if their intentions were really bad. It felt like sticky black oil wrapping around your chest, and had kept the two of you from going home with otherwise attractive, funny guys. As soon as they touched you, you were repulsed to the point of feeling ill. That was enough to steer Casey away as well. But your dear sweet friend seemed to have the ability to attract these losers. You weren’t sure why, but it was like she had a big target on her head. Maybe because she was so trusting. Or maybe it was because she was about 5’7”, with legs for days, pale skin, and a mess of red hair that cascaded gorgeously down her back. 

Realizing you had been staring blankly at your phone while wiping down the same spot on the counter for the past five minutes, you put in your earbuds and called your friend.

“So are you coming with me or what?” Was the immediate demand. No small talk from that girl, ever. You rolled your eyes and wiped another computer desk down. “C’mon (Y/N), it’s been forever since you’ve gone out with meeee.”

“Case, it’s been two weeks, stop whining. And I just saw you in class on Wednesday.” You laugh at the mock pleading, and move on to the next task. Cleaning always seems to go faster when you have someone talking in your ear. Casey grumbles loudly.

“Yeah, but two weeks is forever for me to not go out. You know this. Plus, who is going to protect me from the creepy-weepies? Left to my own devices, I might go home with…” She gasps and pauses for dramatic effect. “A bartender! Dun dun duuuuuh!”

You know she’s just teasing, but it did feel like a bodyguard job sometimes. But at least she never argued with you if you told her someone was no good.  
“You have terrible taste in partners, Case.” She hollers indignantly and you cackle. 

“But they’re all so pretty! I just can’t help myself. Makes me drool. In my p-”  
“NOPE” You cut her off loudly. “You are so gross, lady bro.” A sigh, and she knows she’s got you. “Fine. I will come out with you tonight.” Her cheers are cut short when you continue. “On two conditions!”

She groaned loudly. “Eeew, rules. Yes, _Mother._ ” Ignoring her protest, you carry on.

“Firstly, you’re doing my hair and makeup-”  
“Naturally, as you suck at it.” She interrupts again, and this time you just speak loudly over her.  
“Second, I’m not staying out all night, so no hookups, my dude. I’ve got a lot to do in the morning. Also shut your face, I do not suck at makeup.” You give the library a once over as you list your rules. Satisfied that everything is clean and in its proper place, you grab your backpack and skateboard out of the office. Once you’re outside and the door is securely locked, you tune back into Casey. 

“Uuuugh, How can you pretend to be so responsible? You don’t even have a car. Your only mode of transportation is a skateboard or the bus. _And_ you talk like a surfer bro, like, ninety percent of the time.” You hear something clatter in the middle of her rant, and then a quiet “Nooo” of despair.  
“I dropped my favourite lipstick in the toilet!” She sobs. 

The laugh that erupts from you sets her off into a tirade of curses and expletives, only ending when she tells you to hurry your ass up, and hangs up. 

At 7:15PM, the summer sun is still hot and bright, even as it casts long shadows through the city. You love Ebott, even more so with the emergence of the Monsters. They mingle in the streets with humans, outnumbered 5 to 1, but still there. For the most part, it’s normal city manners, with everyone ignoring everyone else. But as you watch, you see little friendly interactions everywhere. A little human girl playing hopscotch with what looks like a bird Monster, and a Monster that you know refers to itself as ‘Temmie’. A buff, muscled guy is chatting casually with a pair of tall Dog Monsters. They laugh jovially. There’s no hate groups active in this area of the city. Everything feels right. You smile, and make your way to the nearest bus stop.


End file.
